Winner Announced for the 2025 FCBG Children’s Book Award

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Winner Announced for the 2025 FCBG Children’s Book Award

The Federation of Children’s Book Groups is thrilled to announce that I Am Rebel by Ross Montgomery has been voted the Overall Winner of the 2025 Children’s Book Award. Now in its 45th year, the Children’s Book Award is proud to be one of the leading champions of children’s voices in reading. As the only national award voted for entirely by children, it is held in high esteem by parents, teachers and librarians alike.

I Am Rebel, a heartwarming adventure about the unbreakable bond between a dog and his human, captivated readers nationwide, and also took the top spot in the Younger Readers category.

Ross Montgomery, who was previously shortlisted in 2022 for The Midnight Guardians, fought off strong competition this year from Hannah Gold’s Turtle Moon and the first in Alex Atkinson’s spooky new horror-mystery series Spooksmiths Investigate. Montgomery’s gripping tale has clearly struck a chord with young readers across the UK.

In the category for younger children, Grotti – written and illustrated by Leonie Lord – took the top spot. A sweet and funny picture book about the way new babies become part of our lives, Grotti faced strong opposition from Tom Percival’s The Bridges, My Friend Andy by Emma Chinnery and A Wild Walk to School by Rebecca Cobb.

Seven Million Sunflowers by Malcolm Duffy was voted favourite in the category for older readers, inspired by the author’s experiences of taking in a Ukrainian family fleeing the war. This powerful and moving story triumphed over a field of strong contenders including Sam Sedgman’s The Clockwork Conspiracy and Ditching Saskia by John Moore and Neetols.

This year saw a phenomenal response from children, with nearly 30,000 votes cast during the Top 10 voting stage. The enthusiastic participation highlights the importance of empowering children to have their say in the books they love.

CBA Co-ordinator, Sarah Stuffins, said: “Congratulations to Ross, and of course Leonie and Malcolm. We had 10 great and varied titles on the Top 10 this year and it is always fascinating to see which ones strike a particular chord with our young voters to become the children’s choice.”